Water Pollution:

An Introduction
 Outline of Topics
• The Hydrosphere
– Water Reservoirs
– Water Usage in the US
– The Hydrologic Cycle
• Composition of the Hydrosphere
– The Dissolution Process
– Composition of Seawater
– Composition of Rivers
• Water Pollution
– Changes in River Composition
– Westhampton Lake
– Water Pollution Overview: Sources, Pollutants
– US Water Quality
 The Hydrosphere
• Lecture Question
– List the major water reservoirs on Earth – ie, the components of the
hydrosphere – in order of volume (largest to smallest).

Reservoir Volume, km 3 Avg Turnover Time

Oceans 1.34E+09 96.54% 2640 yr
Cryosphere 2.41E+07 1.74% 8900 yr
Groundwater/Permafrost 2.37E+07 1.71% 515 yr
Lakes/Rivers 1.90E+05 0.01% 4.3 yr
Soil Moisture 1.65E+04 0.0012% 52 d
Atmosphere 1.29E+04 0.0009% 8.2 d
Biomass 1.12E+03 0.0001% 5.6 d
 US Freshwater
Usage

Sources of freshwater
• approx 75% surface water
• approx 25% ground water

Uses of freshwater
• agriculture (41%)
• hydro power (39%)
• drinking/washing/etc (12%)
• almost half (48%) supplied
by ground water
• industrial/mining (8%)
Largest Consumption
• agriculture, by far (85%)
 The Hydrologic Cycle
• Questions
– What is the hydrologic cycle?
• The hydrologic cycle is the movement of water between its
reservoirs, on either a local or global scale.
– What are the processes by which water circulates between its
reservoirs?
• Precipitation
• Condensation
• Evaporation
• Transpiration
– Uptake from soil by plants, release as vapor from stomata
• Overland flow
– Surface runoff
– Channel flow
• Groundwater flow
– Baseflow recharges surface water (rivers, lakes, etc)
• Infiltration into the soil
– Mechanism of groundwater recharge
The Hydrologic Cycle
Global Water Balance and Circulation

Volumes: km3
Fluxes: km3/yr
 Global Water Balance and Circulation
• Globally: a giant distillation
– There is a net global movement of water
• ocean  atmosphere  land  oceans
– This process concentrates solutes in oceans that were picked during
flow over/through the land
• What happens to water that falls (as precipitation) on the land?
– Can be intercepted by foliage
• Most of this evaporates back into the air
– Can run off over land into a nearby river/lake
– Can penetrate into the ground (infiltration/recharge)
• Soil water: some of this is taken up by roots and transpired back into the air;
some is evaporated (evapotranspiration)
• Ground water: flows underground towards nearby rivers/lakes (base flow)
– Runoff vs infiltration/recharge
• Depends on the vegetation/landscape and the rate of precipitation
Fate of Atmospheric Precipitation
 Dissolution of Solids
• Question
– What is a solution? How is it formed?

– Electrolytes vs nonelectrolytes
– Dissolution of solids
• Molecular compounds
• Ionic compounds
 Composition of the Hydrosphere
• Lecture Question
– What are the most concentrated solutes in the hydrosphere?

– Cations: Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+

– Anions: Cl-, SO42-, H2CO3/HCO3-/CO32-
– Neutral: Si(OH)4
 Dissolved Solutes in Seawater
• Proportions are by
Br-, 0.19% mass fraction
HCO3-, 0.30% • Proportions remain
fairly constant, even
SO42-, 7.72% as salinity changes
• Ranges of salinity:
33 – 37 g/kg
typical values
pH: 8.1
TDS (salinity): 35 g/kg +
Na , 30.67%

2+
Mg , 3.65%
2+
-
Ca , 1.17%
Cl , 55.05%
K+, 1.14%
 Dissolved Solutes in Seawater
g/kg g/L mass fraction
+
Na 10.7838 11.0534 30.67%
2+
Mg 1.2837 1.315793 3.65%
2+
Ca 0.4121 0.422403 1.17%
+
K 0.3991 0.409078 1.14%
2+
Sr 0.0079 0.008098 0.02%

Cl 19.3529 19.83672 55.05%

SO4 2.7124 2.78021 7.72%

HCO3 0.107 0.109675 0.30%

Br 0.0672 0.06888 0.19%

CO3 0.0161 0.016503 0.05%

F 0.0068 0.00697 0.02%
B(OH)3 0.0045 0.004613 0.01%
Si(OH)4 0.002 0.00205 0.01%
TDS 35.1555 36.03439 100%
density 1.025
pH 8.1
salinity (g/kg) 33-37
 Dissolved Solutes in Rivers
typical values
Si(OH)4 pH: 7.38.1
Ca2+
TDS (salinity): 70200

Cl
9%
13%
Na+
8%
7%
3%
SO4  Mg2+
10%
K+ 1%

48%

Values from 1980

HCO3
 Dissolved Solutes in Rivers
Africa Asia S. America N. America
conc, mg/L fraction conc, mg/L fraction conc, mg/L fraction conc, mg/L fraction
2+
Ca 5.7 9.4% 17.8 13.3% 6.3 11.5% 21.2 14.9%
+
Na 4.4 7.2% 8.7 6.5% 3.3 6.0% 8.4 5.9%
2+
Mg 2.2 3.6% 4.6 3.4% 1.4 2.6% 4.9 3.4%
+
K 1.4 2.3% 1.7 1.3% 1.0 1.8% 1.5 1.1%

HCO3 26.9 44.2% 67.1 50.0% 24.4 44.7% 72.3 50.7%

SO4 4.2 6.9% 13.3 9.9% 3.8 7.0% 18.0 12.6%

Cl 4.1 6.7% 10.0 7.5% 4.1 7.5% 9.2 6.4%
Si(OH)4 12.0 19.7% 11.0 8.2% 10.3 18.9% 7.2 5.0%
TDS 60.9 134.2 54.6 142.7

Europe Oceania World Average

conc, mg/L fraction conc, mg/L fraction conc, mg/L fraction
2+
Ca 31.7 15.5% 15.2 12.2% 14.7 13.3%
6.5% • Concs can be quite
+
Na 16.5 8.0% 7.6 6.1% 7.2
2+ variable.
Mg 6.7 3.3% 3.8 3.1% 3.7 3.4%
+
K 1.8 0.9% 1.1 0.9% 1.4 1.3% • 98% of all rivers have
HCO3

86.0 42.0% 65.6 52.9% 53.0 48.1% Ca2+ and HCO3- as
 the principal ions.
SO4 35.5 17.3% 7.7 6.2% 11.5 10.4%

Cl 20.0 9.8% 6.8 5.5% 8.3 7.5%
Si(OH)4 6.8 3.3% 16.3 13.1% 10.4 9.4%
TDS 205.0 124.1 110.2
 Change in Average River Water Composition (Major Ions)
• Increases in concentrations of major ions in freshwater due to pollution:
– Ca: +9%
– Mg: +8%
– Na: +28%
– K: +7%
– Cl: +30%
– SO4: +50% (approx)
– HCO3: +2%
• Why?
– Irrigation
• Mimics “distillation” process (which causes oceans to be salty) on a local scale
• Water – often from underground – with dissolved solutes is applied to crops. Some
evaporates, concentrating the salts in the soil. These (especially the more mobile ions,
such as Na+ and Cl-) make their way back into local rivers.
– Atmospheric acid deposition
• SO2 emissions will be oxidized in the atmosphere and deposit as sulfate PM.
 Water Pollution
• What is wrong with Westhampton Lake?
– Pathogens
• High counts of fecal coliform (human, animal)
– Cultural eutrophication
• Due to nutrient pollution
– Nitrogen: nitrate, ammonium
– Phosphorus: phosphate
• Harmful effects
– Oxygen depletion
– Siltation
– Decreased light penetration
– Increased mobility of toxic metals
– Increased production of methane, hydrogen sulfide, other noxious
gases
 Classification of Water Pollution
• Biological pollution
– Pathogens (poor sanitation)
– Others: invasive species, eutrophication, etc

• Physical pollution
– Thermal pollution (water used as coolant)
– Siltation (increased TSS), eg due to increased erosion

• Chemical pollution
– Change in chemical composition and toxicity
 Water Pollution Overview
• Worst Water Pollution Problems
– Pathogens
• Due to poor sanitation
• Can be a serious problem in developing countries
• WMO estimate: 3.5 million die a year from water-born disease,
mostly children under 2 years old
– Nutrient pollution
• Causes cultural eutrophication, algae blooms, oxygen depletion
– High BOD waste
• Causes oxygen depletion
– Toxic metals
• Sometimes called “heavy” metals
• Lead, mercury, arsenic are the worst offenders
– Toxic organics
• Pesticides, petroleum by-products, solvents, industrial waste, etc
 Major Activities that Pollute the Hydrosphere
• Industrial discharges
– eg, paper and pulp mills, chemical manufacturers, steel plants, textile
manufacturers, food processing plants
• Sewage discharges
– Discharges of treated sewage from treatment plants; combined sewer overflows
(CSOs)
• Urban runoff
– Runoff from impervious surfaces (streets, etc)
• Agricultural operations
– Crop production, livestock operations (esp cafos)
• Silvicultural operations
– Forest management, tree harvesting, logging road construction
• Resource extraction
– Mining, petroleum drilling, runoff from mine tailing sites
• Waste disposal
– Landfill leachate, underground injection, incineration (followed by atmospheric
deposition of pollutants)
• Hydrologic modification
– Channelization, dredging, dam construction, removal of riparian vegetation,
streambank modification, drainage/filling of wetlands
 Water Pollution Summary
Degradation Major Chemical Pollutants Major Source Activities
harmful algae blooms nutrients (inorganic N and P) domestic and agricultural use of chemical fertilizers;
(‘red tides’) activities that generate acid rain; discharge of untreated
sewage; large-scale livestock operations
oxygen depletion nutrients; high-BOD (ie, chemical fertilizers; acid rain generation; sewage
biodegradable) pollution; thermal discharges; livestock operations; power plants
pollution
cultural eutrophication nutrients see above
acidification SO2, NOx, FeS2 generation of acid rain; drainage of mine waste
increase in salinity inorganic salts urban runoff, industrial discharges, irrigation
siltation particulates of any kind (may also landscape alteration (e.g. deforestation) causing increased
have adsorbed toxic chemicals) erosion
toxic metals Hg, Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Se, Tl, Ni, Ag, many industrial and domestic uses; power plant emissions
Mn, Ba, etc
radioactivity Sr-90, I-129, Ra-226, U-238, medical uses, coal power plants, nuclear fuel cycle
Rn-222, etc
synthetic organic DDT, atrazine, parathion, aldicarb, pest control (agricultural, municipal, and household use)
pesticides many others
petroluem products various hydrocarbons, including leaks during storage (above and under ground), spills
BTEX and PAHs; gasoline during transport, urban runoff
additives such as TEL and MTBE
other toxic organic PCBs, dioxins, furans, many others industrial and combustion by-products, industrial
pollutants discharges, etc
 US Water Quality
• Classification
– Good
• Water quality is sufficient to meet all designated uses
– Impaired
• Water quality is insufficient to meet at least one designated use
• State obligated to develop “TMDL” rules for impaired water bodies
• Some Designated Uses (varies by state)
– Food supply
• Fish consumption
• Shellfish consumption
– Water supply
• Public drinking water
• Agricultural (irrigation)
– Recreation
• Swimming (primary contact)
• Boating (secondary contact)
– Ecosystem health
• Aquatic life support
• Wildlife support
 US Water Quality: Common Causes of Impairment
Le ading Pollutant Source s (US EPA, 2000)

Rank Rivers Lakes Estuaries Groundwater

1 agriculture agriculture sewage discharges leaky USTs
hydrologic hydrologic
2 urban runoff septic tanks
modification modification
3 urban runoff urban runoff industrial landfills
unspecified nonpoint
4 forestry atmospheric deposition fertilizer application
sources
5 sewage discharges atmospheric deposition agricultural industrial

Le ading Pollutants/Stre ssors (US EPA, 2000)

Rank Rivers Lakes Estuaries Groundwater

1 pathogens nutrients toxic metals VOCs
2 siltation toxic metals pesticides petroleum products
3 habitat alterations siltation BOD toxic metals
4 BOD TDS pathogens pesticides
5 nutrients BOD toxic organics nitrate
 Water Quality in the US (2000): Rivers and Streams
• Overall impairment level
– 39% of rivers and streams are
impaired for their designated use

• Leading Polluting Sources

1. Agriculture
2. Hydrologic Modification
3. Urban Runoff
4. Forestry
5. Sewage Discharges

• Leading Pollutants/Stressors
1. Pathogens
2. Siltation
3. Habitat Alterations
4. High BOD
5. Nutrients
 Water Quality in the US (2000): Lakes, Reservoirs, Ponds
• Overall impairment level
– 45% of lakes, reservoirs, and
ponds are impaired for their
designated use

• Leading Polluting Sources

1. Agriculture
2. Hydrologic Modification
3. Urban Runoff
4. Unspecified Point Sources
5. Atmospheric Deposition

• Leading Pollutants/Stressors
1. Nutrients
2. Toxic Metals
3. Siltation
4. TDS (ie, high salinity)
5. High BOD
 Water Quality in the US (2000): Estuaries
• Overall impairment level
– 51% of estuaries are impaired for
their designated use

• Leading Polluting Sources

1. Sewage Discharges
2. Urban Runoff
3. Industrial
4. Atmospheric Deposition
5. Agricultural

• Leading Pollutants/Stressors
1. Toxic Metals
2. Pesticides
3. High BOD
4. Pathogens
5. Toxic Organics
 Water Quality in the US (2000): Great Lakes
• Overall impairment level
– 78% of Great Lakes Shoreline
waters are impaired for their
designated use

• Leading Polluting Sources

1. Contaminated Sediments
2. Urban Runoff
3. Agricultural
4. Atmospheric Deposition
5. Habitat Modification

• Leading Pollutants/Stressors
1. Toxic Organics
2. Nutrients
3. Pathogens
4. Siltation
5. High BOD
Virginia Water Quality
 VA Water Quality
• Leading causes of impairment
– Rivers
• Major: Pathogens (fecal coliform, e coli)
• Others (minor): DO, pH, freshwater benthics, PCBs in fish
– Lakes
1. DO
2. PCBs in fish
– Estuaries (Chesapeake)
1. PCBs in fish
2. DO
3. Benthics (more minor)
VA Water Quality Trends
VA Chesapeake Bay: Oxygen Depletion
VA Chesapeake Bay: Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
• SAV goal: 77,463 acres
– 37,640 acres attained
– 38,823 acre shortfall